


Investment

by MortyVongola



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Eventual Smut, Eventual Torture, F/M, Fear, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Sorry, Jackassery, Kidnapping, Nudity, Possibly OOC, Possibly Unrequited Love, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love, did I mention slowburn?, money money money man, who doesn't love nudity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 22:37:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7073329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MortyVongola/pseuds/MortyVongola
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kylo Ren is a warrior, granted a newly debuted warrior, but a warrior nonetheless! A small Bounty Hunter should not be able to get under his skin, especially as a Force User! So, why are you able to? Not only have you stolen from him, injured him, and outwardly mocked him, but you refuse to give him the time of day. Even after he's told you of how he feels. Man, Bounty Hunters really suck sometimes.</p><p>[Kylo Ren x Reader]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Big Guy

**Author's Note:**

> I've been playing with this idea for a while, but then I heard the song 6 Inch by Beyoncé, on her new album Lemonade, and the idea finally came together. 
> 
> (I'm graduating tomorrow, yay!!)
> 
> Anyway, enjoy! Comments, Kudos, and views are always always appreciated! Especially Comments :DDDDDDDDD

His chest was heaving, light-saber a light and gripped tightly in his fist, the sounds of battle almost rhythmic in his ears. Kylo Ren stood atop a pile of corpses, his Knights of Ren continuing to run a muck as he watched; concentrated. The glorious sights of the battlefield brought a great sense of peace to him. He took a step away from his perch, scanning for any other soldiers that were not his own, the large sand dunes and broken metal making it easy for one to hide behind. Not a being in sight. Kylo moved to turn around and head back to the shuttle but then he heard it, and sensed it, a sharp _click clack_ against the metal floors that were scattered with sand. He turned swiftly, his saber at the ready, cowl billowed out behind him as a large gust of wind tossed the red sand around. A figure was walking toward him, clothing obscenely clean compared to all of the grime around them. His large black mask was met with the visage of a small white mask, almost flush against the other beings face. Two small rectangular shapes peered up at him. Form fitting armor and a large white scarf outlined the figure of a woman. You stopped, only a few feet away from him and tilted your head to the side, seemingly watching him in a curious fashion. The sound had come from her boots. _Hardly battle attire_ , Ren thought as he continued to watch her carefully. Finally, you moved, reaching down to her hip, reaching toward a metal cylinder. Kylo was prepared to charge, however, what you grabbed instead of the cylinder was a small pouch and you opened it. Reaching inside you pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and unraveled it. Your gaze left him and turned down to the paper before switching back up to him. You put one arm, the one holding the paper, back down at your side and reached up for your mask with the other. With a short _snap_ sound the front of your mask came off and revealed a human face.

 

“Are you Kylo Ren?” Your voice was soft, no malice, entirely curious. A small twinkle was in your eyes and you gave him a large, cheeky smile. “Of course you are,” you said and turned the paper around, displaying a rough sketch of his mask and a large amount of Credits was written under the large Basic letters of _Reward_. Kylo stiffened and took a menacing step forward, moving into a more predatory stance. You held your hands up and told him your name, saying, “Woah there, Big Guy! I’m not here to fight with a Jedi, they are a dying breed y’know.”

 

“I am not a Jedi,” his retort was clipped and laced with aggression. You clicked your tongue shrugged in an uncaring manner. “Whatever, it’s none of my business what you identify as anyway.”

 

“Your attire,” the Knight started. “What is a Bounty Hunter here for?”

 

“I’m not a Bounty Hunter,” you muttered and crossed her arms over her chest.

 

“You are a Mercenary, then?”

 

“Hmm, I like to think of myself as more of an,” you paused and reached a hand up to tap your chin. “As an investment,” you said with a broad smile. Kylo tilted his head to the side and peered at you, his eyes narrowed behind the mask.

 

“It is not any business of mine what you identify as, anyway.”

 

“Ooh, sass. I like that,” you said and smiled with a nod. The paper still in your hand, you stretched your arms out and took a deep breath in before coughing loudly. “Uhg, sand.”

 

He stood there, staring at you warily, ready for the slightest of movements and prepped to attack. This woman was odd, to say the least. Kylo continued to scrutinize you as you hacked. Your belt held that cylinder as well as a pack and a regulations blaster, no doubt stolen, on your other hip. Strapped to your back, however, was a, possibly incredibly rare, relic; an old sword that was very well taken care of. You wore no symbol on her person, showing no alliance with either the Resistance or the First Order. Your frame was far smaller than his large build. From his standpoint, it seemed as if he could defeat you with a simple hit, but one should never underestimate their opponent. “Forgive me, that was an unnecessary amount of coughing,” you muttered, almost breathless. Kylo simply nodded slightly.

 

“To answer your earlier question, I’m here for a bounty! You have no idea how long it took me to find you. Frankly, as flashy as you are, I’m surprised at how well the First Order kept you under wraps. I wonder why that is,” you smirked, toothily. Your eyes sparkled a bit before some your hair fell in front of your face. “Now, before you attack me, which I’m certain you will soon, I’d like to mention that the bounty isn’t for _you_ , exactly.”

 

“Then why was it you had to find me?”

 

“Well, it involves you. Unexpectedly, you have a very _large_ almost _occultist_ following.”

 

“Get to the point, Bounty Hunter.”

 

“Fine, Mr. Snippy,” you huffed. “I’m here for your cowl.”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“…My,” he began, taken aback. “My cowl?”

 

“Yes, your cowl.”

 

“Who wishes to have my cowl? And for what purpose would it serve?”

 

“Hey, don’t ask me. I have a confidentiality policy. I don’t ask,” you shrugged.

 

“How many Credits?”

 

“What?” You blinked at him, a small wind blew about some sand at your feet and you frowned as the clay colored grains touched your pure white and heeled boots.

 

“How many Credits is my cowl worth?” You blinked and looked back down to the paper.

 

“A shred is worth 70, a large portion is worth 700, and the entire thing, unscathed, is worth 7,000,” you muttered, brow furrowed in a bit of curiosity. “If it’s any consolation, the client is a Hutt.”

 

“Really? A Hutt?”

 

“Yes, a Hutt.”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“7,000 Units you said.”

 

“Yes, 7,000 Units.”

 

“I’ll give you 14,000 to leave,” Kylo offered.

 

“Aw, really? I thought we were having a lovely conversation, Big Guy,” you frowned. Kylo’s jaw clenched.

 

“Make that 14,000 Units and I’ll let _you_ leave _unscathed_.”

 

“Hmm, tempting,” You pressed a finger to your chin in thought. A mischievous smile crawled onto your face and you said, “20,000 Credits, a portion of your cowl, and I leave unscathed.”

 

“And why would I do that?”

 

“Because if you don’t, you will be picking sand out of your armor and helmet for weeks to come.” Kylo’s grip tightened and he charged toward you, swinging his saber as he went. With little effort you dodged his saber and began to kick up the sand around you both. His vision, now unclear, became useless and he turned his lightsaber off. He closed his eyes and looked for your signature in the force. By the time he found you his cowl already had a chunk cut off and you had your blaster at his back. “It’s nothing personal, Big Guy. I’d love to chat some more with you, however, I have a client to please.” Your voice, now distorted by your own mask resounded behind him. Kylo clenched and unclenched his fists and he stiffened when your arm hit the side of his. A sound, like a rhythmic downward ticking, sounded for a few seconds before you released him entirely. You stared down at the same arm that had hit his, and he realized that there was a holoscreen in your gauntlet. You gave him a two fingered salute and began to back away, “Thanks for the Credits. Let’s play again sometime soon.”

 

The Knights anger was rising and he was visibly trembling as you ran off, far quicker than he had expected you to be. He let out a frustrated scream and began to slash at the already mangled corpses on the ground. When that wasn’t enough he moved onto the shuttle and started shredding wires and machinery in his blind fury. When the rest of his Knights found him, he was sitting on the ramp of the shuttle; helmet off and face contorted in displeasure.  With a hoarse voice he commanded, “Call for another ship.” When they asked him why he hadn’t done so already, he stood and stormed back into the broken shuttle, refusing to admit that you had also stolen his com-link and a portion of his vocoder.


	2. Rainy Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, bitches~ Sort of. This chapter is a bit short and I apologize but, you know. I would've had this out before the end of October but I was in Tennessee and the hotel I was in didn't have free wifi so that kind of sucked. Anyway I'm glad to FINALLY be able to update this, I know its been a long time coming so I hope it meets everyone's expectations.
> 
> ANYWAYS, a HUGE thank you to;  
> Jessica, Freya, Gray_Jedi, FairySquadMother333 (lol Fairy Squad Mother, I like that), OliverM, Ey babe it's ok, Undeadslayerbane, YukiDaviji, FullMoonsAndBlackCats, and Lightroo for commenting, bookmarking, and waiting. As for those who gave me Kudos there's too many to name so THANK YOU SO MUCH! Please. enjoy!

The rain was loud and heavy. From what Ren could tell it would take hours for it to stop. He stood there, watching the water fall on the greenery around him. This solo mission would have to be finished at a later time. Thankful for the shielding done by his ship, he took his helmet off and set it down on the ramp beside him. Ren combed his fingers through his hair and slowly sat down on the edge of the ramp. His long arms rest on top of his knees and he kept his eyes ahead of him. 

At times like this he would normally begin to meditate, but not now. He could sense something coming, something human and it was fast. The being was too far away for him to get more details but as far as he could tell it was headed right for him. He narrowed his eyes and thunder shook the area around him. Two beings now, one human and relatively average sized the other was most definitely not human and it was advancing quickly. Great. 

The Knight stood quickly, his hand at his hip and ready to draw his saber, when you burst through the bushes, panting and running for your life. Your swords were in their sheaths at your back, your garb was made of dark and light browns. A panicked expression on your features. “Bounty Hunter,” he said, an expression of anger climbing onto his face.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite Jedi!” You were running right for him now and you seemed to pick up the pace a bit.

“I’m not a Jedi,” he growled out, but his anger deflated when he saw the beast that was running after you. “What the hell-“ 

“Now is not the time, Big Guy! Into the ship!” You grabbed him by the arm and began to pull him into his ship with you. Ren scrambled for his helmet and entered the ship behind you, keeping a close eye on the hand that was in contact with his arm. It was so much smaller than his own, yet it had enough strength to somewhat drag him inside. You let go of him and ran toward the button to lift the ramp. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shiiiiiitt!” The ramp was moving too slowly, at this rate the beast would get inside.

Ren lifted his arm and focused, using the force he snapped the ramp shut and the pressure of it threw you right into him. He stood straight and stiff and you leaned against him while you attempted to catch your breath. “What is that, that thing?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a Vornskr before,” you pushed your hair back a bit and jumped when the beast crashed into the closed ramp. 

“Vornskr?” Ren asked, he watched you carefully, keeping his distance.

“They are, probably, one of the deadliest beings to exist. Probably killed more Jedi than the Empire did, back in the old days.” You made a loud noise of exhaustion before throwing yourself on the metallic floor. 

“How could a beast do that?”

“Rumor has it they hunt with the force or for the force, something along those lines, but they’re relatively extinct now. Not enough force users to feed on, after all.” Ren scowled and clenched his fists at his sides. 

“Bounty Hunter, watch what you imply.”

“Imply? I’m not implying anything,” you took a deep breath and flinched at the sound of metal being bitten into and torn at. “Do you think it will find a way in?” 

“This is dura-steel, it’s stronger than a mere beast.” Ren narrowed his gaze at you, and then glanced at the large bag on your back. “What did you do?”

You head shot up and you grabbed your bag, holding it tightly. “Nothing, I’ve done nothing at all. Why? What have you done?” 

“Do not play games with me! You must’ve done something to anger it!” 

“You must think I’m stupid to believe I’d do something to a Vornskr. Maybe It’s you that it wants! You are a Jedi, after all.” You began to choke on nothing, bringing your hands up to your neck and clutching at it.

“Give me a reason why I shouldn’t kill you now,” Ren tightened his grip and your vision began to blur, but your bag began to wiggle and a small black creature jumped at him, “Ah!” His grip on you released and you gasped for breath, rubbing your neck as if something had made it sore. The Knight groaned as he hit the floor, a stinging feeling radiating from his arm. “What the kriff,“ he grabbed at the black ‘blur’ that was gnawing on his arm and as he sat up, he brought the small beast up in front of his face. Ren frowned and turned to look at you with an aggravated gaze. “Nothing, huh?”

“It’s only a pup, that one outside was going to eat it!”

“What do you mean?”

“The pup is deformed,” you sighed and looked away from him and to the creature. “His tail is a stump and it only has one eye. There’s no way it could’ve hunted, abandoned by its pack it was going to die. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Let it die,” Ren snarled as it pawed at his arm. The pup pressed its back paws against Ren’s clothed arm and he began to wriggle about. Its small mouth opened in a yawn before it stopped struggling and hung loosely from the Knight’s hold. It was rather cute, the Force user tilted his head to the side as he watched it blink its eye at him.

“It kept following me and it tried to nibble on my shoes. I don’t think I’ve ever liked another living being as much as I like that one.” You coughed a bit before walking over and taking the pup from his grasp. “Besides you, of course,” you winked at him and started walking toward the other side of the ship.

“I want you out of my ship.”

“And I want you to lick me into the next galaxy,” you smirked. “But we can’t always have what we want.”

“You-“

“If I had known that this is what you look like without you helmet, then I would’ve stolen the entire thing instead of just the com-link.”

“…you disgust me.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” you winked at him, and he looked away from you with a huff.

The silence continued, with small interruptions of the adult Vornskr’s attempts to break the ship. After hours of meditating, while waiting for the Vornskr to go away, Ren turned to gripe at you again but noticed that you had fallen asleep. The much smaller Vornskr was curled up into your side, sleeping peacefully, while you had curled in on yourself. He tilted his head to the side, you looked so calm and peaceful. Unlike he could’ve ever imagined you to be. You looked soft, like a regular human. This way you weren’t a bounty hunter, you weren’t a pain in the ass, you were just alive. Only being, and that brought a strange feeling of companionship in him. A kindred spirit of sorts. 

Ren decided he would go back to his meditation and eventually he fell asleep. When he next awoke, it was to the sound of the ramp being lowered. Opening his eyes, he turned to see you standing before the ramp, watching the rain fall as he had the day before. You looked frozen, and he closed his eyes again. “Where do you go, Bounty Hunter?”

“Huh?” You turned to look at him, and he stared through you. 

“Who are you?”

“I’m,” you paused and started blinking. You turned away from him and looked outside again, the small Vornskr trotted to your side and pressed his head against the back of your leg. “Why does it matter?”

“You told me your name before, woman. Tell it to me again.”

“You first. Tell me who you really are,” you looked back at him. He continued to observe you, unwavering, and a small but empty smile curved your lips. “I see, for now you can call me what I am.”

“A Bounty Hunter?”

“No,” you began to walk down the ramp, the pup following behind you. Ren stood and walked toward the edge of the ramp. He watched you stand in the rain, no doubt watching for the adult Vornskr. 

“What am I supposed to call you, then? Thief?”

“Call me what I am, Big Guy.”

“I don’t understand,” he furrowed his brows. Taking a few steps further down the metal structure, almost in the rain. “What are you saying? Are you not human?”

“Far from it,” you started walking. “I’m a force to be reckoned with, Ren, and you should think of me as such.” You didn’t turn to look at him and kept going. Just like you had appeared from the trees, hours before, you disappeared between them. He stared after you, confused and a bit angry. He still didn’t understand, and he hated that. What had brought this change in attitude? The rain began to fall harder and despite, that he ran out into it determined to follow your signature in the Force. When he felt you stop moving, he ran faster. Why were you stopped? When he found the area where you were supposed to be he found nothing. 

“Kriff,” Ren muttered in aggravation. He'd see you again, of that he was certain.


	3. Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...this is awkward...  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...  
> I'M SO SORRY FOR BEING GONE FOR SO LONG I'M SURE ALL OF YOU FORGOT ABOUT ME BUT I'M STILL SO SORRY AND I PROMISE I WON'T DO IT AGAIN I'M SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY ILY ALL AND I CAN'T APOLOGIZE ENOUGH!!!!
> 
> Anyway, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who read, commented, favorited, bookmarked, and kudosed the last chapter.  
> And here's some extra recognition for the ONE who commented on the last chapter (just so you know you'll always be heard) FairySquadMother333 (such a faithful commenter)  
> If FairySquadMother333 reads this chapter, I just want to let you know that because you are so fantastic you get to choose one of two things! The first choice is A; you get to name the Vornskr that will be in almost every chapter from now on or B; you give me a character that you can design however you want and I'll put them in this story! They obviously won't be the Reader but they can be whoever else you want!
> 
> Okay, so that's enough of me talking, have a chapter.

The third time he met you, he does not remember. Even if you told him, he’d refuse to believe it, so it was best he did not know. He had been on another mission with a few of his knights but it had gone horribly wrong. They had been led into a trap and all the knights that were brought along were slaughtered. Ren was left for dead, badly beaten and unconscious. He would have died there, if it had not been for you. However, as far as he knew, you were a part of the reason his mission failed, and you’d rather have him hate you for what happened then further your interests in the Knight.

You had just finished a task of your own, tired and ready to relax for a little while when you saw what looked to be an abandoned star craft in the sands. The Vornskr pup had grown a bit since when you had taken him, and he followed you as you walked toward the space craft. After taking one of your gloves off you rubbed some of the dust off the side. “This is a First Order insignia,” you muttered and glanced at the tail end of the ship. “Those scratch marks,” you trailed off and ran to the other side of the ship. 

There was nothing but sand dunes. “He wouldn’t just leave his ship, would he?” You put your scavenger goggles on, using them to try to spot him from a distance. “Nothing,” you grumbled. “Maybe it isn’t his ship after all?” Your Vornskr glanced up at you as if telling you, ‘yes, all First Order ships come standard with Vornskr scratch marks’

“Shut it,” you grumbled and began to search around again. “Maybe he got a better ship and was able to just leave this one here.” You slid down into the small valley created by the many sand dunes in the area. The black animal slid down alongside you, sitting down and watching as you looked around for any trace of life. “Aren’t you a Jedi hunter? Why aren’t you looking?” He let out a bark like sound in response. 

With a sigh, you figured it would take too much effort and time to continue. This planet is large and he could be anywhere by now, but you could not shake off the feeling that something was off. Your selfish ways got the better of you and you began to walk back toward your compound. The further away you got from the ship the more uneasy you felt, and then it hit you. Like a speeder had run you over you flew back into a large pile of sand, a groan escaping your lips.

You were a little less than halfway back to your compound. “Great, now I have more sand in my pants then I wanted,” you sighed and began to pull yourself out of the dune before a hand came out of the pile at your back and gripped your shoulder tightly. “Ahhh!” You screamed and your Vornskr growled in response to your distress. You jumped up and out of the pile and turned around to glance back at the dune. A black and gloved hand was sticking out; it was covered in dust and dried blood. You could hear a voice, a muffled and faint call for help. 

“Hold on!” You began to dig through the pile of sand and slowly uncovered an injured arm and then blood covered shoulder, the clothing was ripped and revealed a largely infected wound surrounded by very light colored skin. You began to panic more with the more you uncovered. Soon enough you knew exactly who it was that was so injured. “Big Guy! Hey, Big Guy wake up,” you held him to yourself and looked at his face closely. “How’d you get in there?”

His body heaved as he began to cough. Sand mixed with saliva began to dribble from his mouth and you knew you would not be able to leave him. “You’re lucky you’re so darn handsome,” you muttered as you draped one of his arms over your shoulder. “Of course the one time I leave my speeder at the compound something like this happens. Why aren’t you big yet?” You turned to look at the medium sized Vornskr and it stared blankly at you. “Yeah, yeah, okay.”

Three days later found him still in rough shape, though he was better. His wounds were deep and highly infected; it was painful to watch them be cleaned. The poor knight would scream in pain as the chucks of metal and sand were removed and the wounds washed clean. Luckily, you were not the one to clean his wounds, though you were the one that changed his bandages, fed him, bathed him, and made sure his fever stayed on the lower end. He was so helpless, barely conscious for more than five minutes at a time, you doubted he would remember any of this. The fourth day found him awake, wide awake at that.

The last thing the knight remembered, before waking, was that he was under attack. Of course, he still thought he was. Unfortunately, instead of you falling victim to his delirious state it was two small children who had been curious as to what you had been hiding in your tent lately. In a flash of rage Ren flung the kids out of the tent with the Force, and those children’s cries are what alerted got your attention. “Oh shit,” you hissed out as you ran away from the watering well and back toward your tent.

The woozy man sat at the edge of the bed, head clutched in his hands and groaned loudly. His head was spinning, so many unfamiliar force signatures and only one was vaguely recognizable. Ren’s fever also created a migraine, which did not help with his situation. He began to panic and with panic came anger. The unclothed knight stood abruptly and watched his world begin to spin as he tumbled to the floor. He was so dizzy. A sharp light seeped in and brought a great deal more pain with it. The Force user groaned loudly and shut his eyes tightly. “Big Guy, I didn’t expect you to wake up so soon,” you whispered gently and wrapped your hands under his armpits. “Look at you, already dirty after I just washed you.”

His head was pounding and he barely recognized your voice. “Bounty…Hun…” he reached out a hand weakly, trying to grab at anything he could to defend himself but the most he did was gently drag his hand against your neck and you shushed him. “There will be plenty of time for talking later, but for now you need more rest.”  
On the fifth day, his fever was at his worst. He could not be left unattended, for fear that he might begin to seize. Whenever you left your tent to get him food or water one of your, fellow, Bounty Hunters would stand watch over him. Many of them asked why you were taking care of him, most asked when you were going to sell him, and the rest would just watch as you got yourself so worked up over a man who meant little more than nothing to you. But that is what you wanted to think. You did not want to admit your interest in him, or how much enjoyed teasing him, so to the ones who asked you’d say ‘I don’t know yet’ and that was the truth. You did not know what to do with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my best to get this out before the end of May 4th so...um...May the 4th be with you for what's left of it?


	4. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for updates! Yay for softie reader! Yay for Maelstrom introduction (the character that FairySquadMother333 won)! Yay for an extra long chapter (or atleast 1,000 words longer than usual)! Yay for living! Yay my laundry's done!
> 
> Anyway, thank you very much to Obi_Juan_Kablooie for commenting on the last chapter and to FairySquadMother333 for designing Maelstrom for me, I quite like him so far.
> 
> Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are always extremely appreciated and encouraging. Anyway, please enjoy this new chapter!

Ren woke up, covered in sweat and extremely hungry. His head was pounding and the air was dry which made him unbelievably thirsty. The last thing he remembered, it was fuzzy, but he could remember slipping onto the ground and your voice. Before that memory, he remembered being under attack and outnumbered. Were you helping those Raiders? Had you helped in slaughtering his men?

 

“Ah, so you’re finally conscious,” came a soft and masculine voice. Kylo looked to the side and saw a man sitting across from him, although man wasn’t quite right. The being was partially man. A robotic left arm and shoulder. His eyes were so green they almost seemed to glow and long light brown hair that was pulled back and out of his face. His skin was a soft tan which contrasted the shiny metal of his left. Ren was certain that, if he were to remove his off-white tank top, he’d see almost his entire left side had been replaced with bionics. “Well, more conscious than you have been. Don’t worry, she’ll be back soon with a nutrient pack for you.”

 

“Who are you?” Ren’s voice was hoarse and it hurt to speak. The dim light of the tent helped to keep his migraine down but the vibrations of his throat sent more waves of pain.

 

“Well, wouldn’t you like to know,” the stranger smiled and stood from his chair. A pendant swung loosely from his neck, dangling down almost to his abdomen, it was silver and circular with small sections that glowed the same green as the bionic man’s eyes. “My name is Maelstrom.”

 

“Where am I?” Again, his voice was weak. _Damnit_ , Ren thought. _Why can’t I sit up?_

“You are very weak right now,” Maelstrom put his human arm gently against Ren’s sweat soaked chest. “You have been very sick for a while now. It is only by the grace of our Maker and the kindness of our leader that you are alive.”

 

“Leader?”

 

“Mae, for the last time, I am not a leader. We have no leader,” you said as you walked into the tent, a clay bowl filled with water in your hands. “You all just listen to what I say and I don’t kick your ass.”

 

“That’s what a leader does, my friend,” Maelstrom smiled at you warmly, a firm hand still pressed to Ren’s chest. The Knight began to salivate at the thought of water, but he made sure to not change expressions. “Our poor patient here is very thirsty and his stomach has been growling for the past half hour.”

 

“Unfortunately, he still shouldn’t be eating solid foods, so Big Guy here is going to have to deal with nutrient filled water,” you sighed and sat down in the chair that Maelstrom had been in a few moments prior. You set the bowl down in your lap and asked Maelstrom to hand you the ladle that was on a table. “You going to stay awake this time?”

 

“This time?”

 

“He’s full of questions today,” Maelstrom added as he handed you the ladle.

 

“That’s good, isn’t it? Before he couldn’t even get out a coherent sentence.” You stirred the water, probably to make sure the nutrients were mixed in well enough where he wouldn’t be swallowing chunks of powder. “Last time you were awake, you panicked and passed out shortly after.”

 

“Why can’t I move?”

 

“Shhh,” you hushed and pressed the ladle to his lips. “More questions later, for now, drink.”

 

And so, he did. He had been so thirsty, he was still starving, but he felt he would’ve gone mad if he had been without water any longer. If Ren could’ve moved, he would’ve knocked your hand and the ladle out of the way and just dove head first into the bowl of water, but no matter how hard he tried his body still would not listen. You continued to let him drink until the bowl was drained and Maelstrom stayed by your side, arms crossed and eyes focused on the Force user, the entire time. After he was finished drinking, you touched Ren’s forehead and sighed at the amount of sweat gathered on your hand. “Maelstrom, he needs another bath.”

 

“Is that your way of asking me to wash him?”

 

“No, I can wash him just fine, you just need to remove his restraints.”

 

“If I do that he might-“

 

“Just the ones on his arms and legs,” you waved your hand in a nonchalant manner. “It’s hard for me to carry 90 kilograms of person all by myself.”

 

“He’s 89 kilograms, probably much less right now. I bet if we weighed him, he’d probably be closer to 85 or 83 kilograms.”

 

“Whatever, it’s still a lot of weight for me to carry on my own.”

 

“I’ll carry him then,” Maelstrom nodded.

 

“Then what, wait for me to finish washing him? You might as well be the one washing him at that point.”

 

“I am perfectly capable of washing myself,” Ren grumbled.

 

“Shut up, no you’re not. You can’t lift a finger with those restraints, besides you haven’t _really_ moved in well over two weeks,” you said as you stood.

 

“Two weeks?”

 

“I’ll wash him, don’t worry about it,” Maelstrom ignored Ren in favor of continuing his argument with you. “Besides, a lady shouldn’t be washing a man anyway.”

 

“Says who? I’ve been washing him since I brought him here,” you crossed your arms over your chest. “Plus, I take care of all of you lot whenever you all are too sick or injured to move. What’s so different about him?”

 

“He’s an outsider,” Maelstrom frowned. “He might attack you.”

 

“You were an outsider too, Mae.” The bionic man frowned and stared hard at your face. He sighed, and grabbed the low hanging pendant around his neck. “Fine, but if anything happens, I will kill him.”

 

Ren glared at the man. If his head wasn’t in so much pain, he’d crush him with the Force. Maelstrom bent over and pressed the pendant against the silver bands, that Ren just noticed were there, that were around his feet and arms. “Thank you, Mae.”

 

“If you need me, I’ll be helping Guarin,” Maelstrom said and kissed you on the forehead before exiting the tent. You sighed and turned to Ren, who was struggling to sit up and mentally making plans for his attack. He had to escape, get back to The Order. There was too much to be done, and he’d heal a lot faster on the _Finalizer_. He was sure of it.

 

“Now then, Big Guy, let’s get you cleaned up,” you said and reached around him to help get him upright. You shifted him so that his feet were dangling off the edge of the cot and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. “Don’t try to put too much weight on your feet, you were badly injured and your leg still hasn’t fully healed.”

 

Together, you both stood. Ren’s legs felt a bit like jelly and he looked down at his body to see that he was naked. “My clothes, where-“

 

“You don’t need clothes in a bath, silly.”

 

“But I ne-“

 

“You’ve been naked almost the entire time you’ve been here. Your fever was far too high, and the fact that we’re on, er, that we’re _in_ a desert didn’t help. So, it was best to keep you unclothed, except for a blanket or two when you were shivering too much.”

 

“Can I at least have some pants, _now,_ ” Ren glared at you, and you smirked at him before beginning to walk out of the tent.

 

“And let you cover that cute tush of yours? Never,” you giggled and Ren flushed in both anger and embarrassment.

 

You were right, the pain in his leg was immense and he was begrudgingly thankful for your assistance in walking. He was also thankful that it looked to be dusk, and despite the many buildings and tents no one was around to see you practically drag Ren across the sandy pathway. The Knight was half expecting to be brought to another tent, so he was surprised to see that you’d brought him into a well-lit building. He squinted at the lighting and the cold stone under his feet. “Are the lights bothering you?” Without thinking, he nodded and you walked him over to a large circular pool and sat him down, with his feet dangling in the water, and walked back toward the front of the building. The lights dimmed and Ren looked down at his reflection in the water. He was pale, paler than usual, and his face had slimmed. His hair was a little longer, but it was hard to tell due to how curly and unruly it was. Under his bangs, he saw a shiny silver band, much like the ones around his ankles and wrists, that was wrapped entirely around his head.

 

You came back, a few soaps in your arms, and helped sit him in the pool gently. “This is one of the only few springs. Our little town here was built around it,” you said and sat on your knees behind him. “There’s another spring, a few ways away from here, it’s smaller and that is what we use for water.”

 

“Why are you telling me this?”

 

“I don’t know, trying to make conversation, I guess,” he could feel you pour some water over his head, and he closed my eyes at the relaxing warmth, much unlike the sweltering heat of outside. Ren reached up with his hands weakly and grabbed yours, halting them in their cleansing tracks.

 

“What is your goal here, Bounty Hunter?”

 

“Goal?” You looked down at the top of his head, and he kept his eyes downcast at the water. “Well, think of me taking care of you, _saving_ you, as an investment. An investment in your future, of course.”

 

Ren’s eyes widened and he turned to looked at you as quickly as he could.

 

_“Hmm, I like to think of myself as more of an,” you paused and reached a hand up to tap your chin. “As an investment.”_

He was angry for a moment, but then he saw the soft look on your face, and the genuine smile on your lips. You looked so comforting and to Ren, that was beautiful. You looked almost as sweaty as he felt, your hands and arms wet with water, cheeks flushed with the heat. Your white shirt clung to your chest with sweat and some of the water you had splashed on his head. Some of your hair had gotten out of its bindings and clung desperately to your gentle face. He closed his eyes and turned around again, letting go of your hands, letting them continue to clean him.

 

When you were finished cleaning him, you gave him a towel and set him down gently against a wall. “Taking care of you is a lot of work, you know.” You began to pull your hair out and let it fall in its unruly state. “I need to clean up, too.”

 

Ren blushed and turned away after he saw you remove your shirt. “Wouldn’t it be best if you did that _after_ you take me back?”

 

“Why would I do that when I’m already here,” you shrugged your naked shoulders and began to remove your loose fitting, brown colored, pants and boots. Then you took your socks off and your underwear before walking into the water and letting out a relaxed sigh. “That would just make it more work for me.”

 

Ren looked toward you once again, after he was sure your body was submerged and no longer visible to him. He watched the muscles of your back stretch and adjust as you washed yourself, your hair soaking wet and now covered in soaps. The Force user watched on curiously and decided now would be the best time to get his questions answered. “When will I be released?”

 

“Well, your ship was stripped for parts a couple of days ago by the local scavengers, all of our ships are in use right now, and you’re still not fully healed so it’ll be quite some time.” You hummed and then turned to him, exposing your front, “Or maybe I’ll just keep you.”

 

Kylo tried his best to ignore your nude breasts as he glared at you. “Keep me?”

 

“That’s right, I’ve grown rather fond of you, Big Guy. I might keep you as a pet.” The Knight grew angry at the word _pet_. The mighty Kylo Ren would be no one’s _pet_. He saw red and lashed out.

 

“I will not become the meager pet of a good-for-nothing Bounty Hunter,” Ren yelled in anger. “You and your worthless bunch are far below me, and I refuse to be a part of a group that are loathed by almost every being in this universe!” You frowned. He paused and watched as you turned your back toward him.

 

“Relax, it was only a joke, Ren.”

 

And then he felt an emotion he hadn’t felt in a long time. Guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a side note, I don't know what to name the Vornskr, so everyone comment a name and the name that either gets commented the most or I like the most will be chosen for Mr. Vornskr.
> 
> Please do give me names, I'm desperate. Okay bye!


	5. Pup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My internet has been out for the past week, so sorry this is late. I also work night shifts at the hospital, so during the day I sleep a bunch and yeah. Anyway, sorry for getting this out so late. I love you all~ Please enjoy~
> 
> Thank you so much to BlackburnTheFox, Saniyam, torasshusama, Obi_Juan_Kablooie, and FairySquadMother333 for commenting and reading the last chapter! Thank you to all the ghosty readers, all the people who bookmarked, and everyone who gave this story Kudos! (I really appreciate it! We're almost at 90 Kudos, hooray!)

Brown eyes stared intently at a single green eye. The Vornskr sat there, watching Ren and he watched the black pup in turn. A loud growl erupted and Ren’s frown deepened. He was hungry and the beast was sitting in the way of the exit. “Move, pup.”

 

The animal didn’t budge, and Ren sighed heavily. Now that Ren was mostly healed; he had been given more freedoms around the area. You had stopped taking care of him, after his comment, but would stop by every now and again to make sure he was alright. Mainly Maelstrom and a few others would watch over him, but now you had put your little dog friend in charge. “You know, even Maelstrom let me get food,” the Knight commented, which earned him a huff in response. “Aren’t you hungry too? Don’t you want to go see your mother, or something?”

 

It barked at him and laid down, still in front of the way out. “If this stupid band wasn’t around my head, you’d be a-“

 

“He’d be a what, Ren?” You asked, an eyebrow raised as you walked into the tent. After Ren said your name you squatted down and pat the now excited Vornksr on the head lovingly. “Who’s a good boy? You are! You’re a great, big, handsome boy, Ben!”

 

“What?” Ren stared at you, like you had three heads and twelve eyes. When you said his birth name, it felt like someone had struck him with a saber. “What did you call him?”

 

“Oh, his name? It’s Benjamin, I decided it’d been long enough and that he deserved a named,” you scratched the pups ear softly and he leaned into your hand. “I love the name, really. It’s usually given to the youngest child of the family. I think it fits him well, seeing as he was the littlest.” You smiled softly at the animal and gently rest your head against his. “I feel a strange sense of peace with that name.”

 

Ren looked away and sat slowly on the floor. He watched you as you lovingly pet the Vornskr and felt that creeping guilt come back again. The Force user whispered your name softly and waited for you to look over at him. “I’m,” he began but paused, unsure of what to say. “It was not my intention to offend you. When I said that, I wasn’t thinking. I want to apologize.”

 

You giggled and gave him a crooked smile, “I’ve got thick skin, Big Guy. You don’t have to apologize,” you moved closer to him and laughed in a way that made Ren a bit nervous. “But my reason for visiting is not altogether selfless.”

 

Benjamin sniffed Ren tentatively and nudged his hand, wanting attention. The Force user looked at the Vornskr and pat its head awkwardly before focusing back on you. He watched you warily as you began to stand. “I bet you’re hungry, so let’s get you some food and then we’ll head out.”

 

“Head out?” He began to stand “What do you mean? Where are we going?”

 

“You know, for someone who’s supposed to know everything, you sure ask a lot of questions.”

 

“Know everything? What kind of nonsense?”

 

“See? More questions! Does the Force not tell you everything? I heard Jedi’s were calm and sensed things that were about to happen.”

 

“For the last time, I am not a Jedi!”

 

“Whatever you say, Big Guy.”

 

“You still don’t believe me, do you?”

 

“More questions,” you said in a sing song voice. Ren grabbed your arm and spun you around.

 

“Listen to me, I am not a Jedi. The Jedi _were_ a group of Force users who were cruel and emotionless. They suppressed themselves, believing that only _they_ were right,” he stared into your eyes, searching for anything other than understanding. “They were oppressive with their gifts. I will not be associated with such _deceivingly selfish people_.”

 

“Alright, Big Guy. I understand,” you nodded and pressed a hand through his curls gently. “You’re not a Jedi. You’re your own kind of being. You’re you.”

 

He felt so much, in that one moment. Anger, appreciation, confusion, and something he couldn’t identify. His head hurt, and his grip on you tightened. Were you getting closer? He was bringing you closer, it seemed. Your eyes, to him, looked so accepting and so wide. Then it happened, your soft lips pressed against his. Your lips were so warm and comforting, just like your words, and it seemed like that was exactly what he needed. He could feel everything around him again. Your life Force connecting with his, calming it. The feeling of your arms around his neck and your waist under his hands excited him.

 

It felt right. _You_ felt right and when you pulled away it felt as though you’d taken a part of him with you. He hadn’t wanted it to end. Ren said your name softly but you turned away from him and cleared your throat. “Food,” you said and walked out of the tent. “Come on, Ben!”

 

When you said his name, not only did the black pup follow you but in a haze of pleasure and lust so did he. Ren didn’t understand what kind of power you held over him or what you were doing to him. However, at this point, _Ben_ would’ve followed you anywhere and done anything for you. Sadly, his loving cloud cleared out when he saw Maelstrom, two bowls of food in his hands, smile at you in that way he always did.

 

The mechanic bounty hunter handed Ren one of the bowls and set the other down for Benjamin. Maelstrom gave a wide smile and wrapped his arms around both you and Ren, “So, my outsider friend, are you ready to come hunting with us?”

 

“What?”

 

“Oh, she hasn’t told you yet? I thought that was what she was going to do,” Maelstrom looked at you and tilted his head to the side.

 

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” you said and unraveled yourself from the man’s grip.

 

“Hunting with you? You mean,” Ren looked to you for clarification.

 

“Eat up, Ren. You’re about to go on your first job as a Bounty Hunter.” Ren looked from you, to Maelstrom, to the Vornskr. He was very unsure of what he should have felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, so? What do you all think of the Vornskr's name?


	6. To Crave Familiarity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey heyyyyyyy guys, long time no see! I'm so sorry for my irregular updates and I'll try to be better about them. After I posted in June was going to update in July but my laptop kind of died and I needed to pay for my semester so I couldn't immediately afford another one. But now I've got one again and I should update more often now. Again, I'm really sorry for the infrequency I know it can get frustrating. I really appreciate all of the support though.
> 
> Speaking of support, I'd like to thank the ones who commented last chapter; Lydia, torasshusama, ZiaLisa, BlackburnTheFox, jarendegana, Hawke, and FairySquadMother333! YAY for them!! They're so awesome, weee *throws confetti*
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy the update!

After Ren had finished eating, and Ben (can’t forget him after all), Maelstrom lead him further out into the sands. “We call it the graveyard,” the bionic man began. “But it’s really where we keep all of our ships, or what’s left of them anyways.”

 

“What happened to your ships?”

 

“Well with the war going on, a lot of planets don’t know friend from foe,” the tanned man shrugged. “Bounty Hunters aren’t the best liked either, especially in alliance with one another. The ships tend to be destroyed and rebuild from the parts that are left.”

 

“Why don’t you buy new ones?” Ren furrowed his brow at the relatively well put together hunk of scrap metal.

 

“No one wants to sell to us,” Maelstrom said and smacked the side of the ship. The metal groaned before the hangar door opened. Ben happily trotted into the ship, undoubtedly used to it by now. “We aren’t allied with either side of the war either, so we don’t get any fancy perks.”

 

“Most do align, why choose to be this way if it causes so much struggle?”

 

“Because we’re not interested in anything but pay.”

 

“You would be paid, compensated, get all of the ‘fancy perks’ that you mentioned.”

 

“Yeah but she prefers it where we can choose our missions. It keeps us safer this way,” Maelstrom opened a storage compartment on the outside of the ship. He pulled out a large white blaster and a sand colored cloak. The blaster he set at his hip, alongside a slew of other trinkets, and the cloak he threw at Ren. The knight narrowed his eyes at the garment before looking back to the man in front of him. “Some of the Hunters have families, we’re kind of like a tiny clan of scrappers.”

 

Ren pressed his lips together and looked back to the cloak. “Does she?”

 

Maelstrom blinked and scratched the side of his head. “Does who?”

 

The black-haired man tilted his head in the direction of the Vornskr, the brunette made a sound akin to ‘ahhhhhh-oooooo’ and shook his head. “No, she doesn’t. She did at one point, but I’d let her tell you that. She’s kind of sensitive about it, you know?”

 

Ren nodded and put the cloak on silently. “This band on my head,” he started. “Who made it?”

 

“I did,” Maelstrom smirked. “Nifty, ain’t it? I made all of the white weapons here, and my own arm.”

 

Silence ensued after that, not an uncomfortable silence but also not the kind that makes you want to stay in it. Kylo sat on the edge of the hangar and absent mindedly stroked Ben’s head while Maelstrom worked on the underside of the barely held together ship. The Force user guessed that they were waiting not only for you, but for ship maintenance as well. He thought back on the First Order and wondered how long he’d been gone, and how much longer it’d be until he went back. Though he was mostly healed, he still had a bit of trouble with his leg and it’d been a long time since he last trained. He’d be far too out of shape and would need to begin retraining immediately.

 

“Sorry boys, I didn’t mean to keep you for so long,” you said as you walked closer to the hangar ramp. You looked at Ren and tilted your head to the side. “What’s the long face for, Big Guy?”

 

“I need to go back to The Order,” he replied. You frowned and crossed your arms over your white plated chest.

 

“Seems to me as though they’ve abandoned you. I’ve been waiting for you to pop up on the missing person’s registry and you haven’t. In fact,” you placed a finger to your chin. “Your other teammates haven’t either. They don’t seem to be looking very hard for you.”

 

Ren’s upper lip pulled up in an angry frown as he stared hard at you. “You’re waiting until I do so that you can collect the reward money.”

 

“Ouch, that was cold.” You feigned hurt and placed a hand on your forehead, pretending to almost collapse on the ramp. Ben immediately became protective and ran toward you, sniffing at your head and guarding your abdomen to make sure you were alright. “After all I did for you, nursing you back to health and everything, you think I’m just in it for the money?”

 

“Yes,” Ren said flatly, regaining his composure.

 

“Well, you’re not completely wrong,” you shrugged and rubbed the pup’s head softly. “I did not help you _originally_ for the money. I’m just waiting until you’re worth something before handing you back.”

 

Kylo’s anger returned and he clenched his fists. So, he was just grocery money to you, huh? Then what was the point of this, of keeping him in good health and taking him out on this hunt. Was it to stay in The Order’s good graces? ‘Look at how well we treated him,’ you’d say. ‘We should be paid more then, because of how well we did watching over him.’ A small _chink_ sound resounded in his ears and his anger was interrupted. “What was that?”

 

“What was what?” You blinked at him, continuing to give affections to the black Vornskr.

 

The pale man frowned and stood, “Nothing,” he muttered before turning and walking back further into the ship. He glanced around at the sketchy patching and well-worn seats. The pilots pit was a little ahead of him and he walked toward it quietly. Ren glanced at all the controls and felt a soft sense of comfort wash over him. It seemed that the mechanics of this ship well resembled those of the _Limo_ that he lovingly flew. She was a good ship and he had not realized how much he’d missed her.

 

Without much thought, he sat in the pilot’s seat and took a deep breath. He missed his sabre too. That amazing connection between his Force energy and his hand made weapon could not be replaced. He craved that connection. At this point, he would not be surprised if you’d sold his weapon and the rest of his armor. The only thing he still had was his boots, which he wore constantly, and those were discolored and scraped from the sands and stones in the area. Kylo let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“Ren?” You asked softly and placed a hand to his shoulder. He glanced at you and in that one look you could see all the unfamiliarity that he felt. With a soft sigh, you sat down in the copilot’s seat and rest elbows on your knees and your head in your hands. “I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner here, because you’re not. The ship that you came on was stolen a few days after I found you and that’s the reason I haven’t let you go yet.”

 

Ren looked on in silence and you continued. “The ships we have here, they can’t go too far and if there you could not find a way to contact The Order to come get you, you would be stranded at whatever dump the ship could take you too. I also cannot afford to let your team of monkeys come here. If anyone outside of this small band of allies finds out where we are, we could be greatly compromised. So, I believe it’s my turn to apologize,” you raised your head and looked at him with completely earnest eyes. “I’m sorry, Ren.”

 

Ren huffed and looked out through the window, he watched the wind swirl the sand around in an aimless manner. “I like it better when you call me Big Guy,” he muttered. You laughed, loudly and reached out to ruffle his hair gently. A blush spread from his cheeks to his ears and he refused to look at you. “Okay then, Big Guy it is.”

 

Shortly after that, Maelstrom came back on the ship and Ren had to move to the disgustingly worn seats. He was also forced to sit next to Benjamin for the duration of the shaky shuttle ride. The Force user had never felt so unsafe in a vehicle before and the turbulence did not agree with Ben either, as the dog like creature proceeded to vomit on the seat across from him. This would be the last time he’d let you take him on a hunt in any ship that wasn’t put together with all the parts it was supposed to have.

 

When you finally landed, Maelstrom walked out like nothing had ever happened and you were no different than him. You even went so far as to take a deep breath of air and skip happily into the greenery surrounding the area. Ren struggled to get out of his seat let alone the ship, the Vornskr looking or feeling no better than the Force user beside him began to chew at the grass on the ground in attempts to settle his stomach.

 

“Now then men,” you clapped your hands together to get everyone’s attention. “The being we’re looking for is, a lizard man!”

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Maelstrom groaned. You shook your head, a devilish smile on your face.

 

“A sentient reptile, in all of this green?” Kylo gestured around him at the environment.

 

“Yup.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is totally not what I expected this chapter to be like, but I actually enjoyed the way it turned out. Please let me know what you think, comments, Kudos, and bookmarks are always appreciated! Even ghosty readers :D
> 
> Also, just a warning, I live in Florida and I will be hit by Hurricane Irma and then possibly by Hurricane Jose (which is following Irma) almost immediately after so I may be out of power for a while and not able to get back to the website for a bit so I apologize in advance and I hope to be back soon! Thanks for reading :3


	7. Bar Hopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Friday the 13th! Woohooooooooooooo! Anyway, quick announcement, I made a twitter for you guys to follow where I retweet a lot of star wars jokes and will update one what I'm writing, when I'm writing, blah blah blahhhhhhhh and the best part is that y'all can DM me and I will gladly respond/follow back if you wish. It's the same username as here, but my profile picture is of a cow. Here's the link https://twitter.com/MortyVongola (please love meeeeeee)
> 
> I made this chapter slightly (huge emphasis on slightly) longer because I want to start making longer chapters. Let me know if it drags on though and I'll start adjusting my style to try to ensure that it doesn't.
> 
> Anyway, a huge thank you to sossm, Hawke, and Kayfoxtrot for commenting on the last chapter! You guys are the best ;)
> 
> Let's get on with the chapterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

“You two are so dramatic, it’ll be fine.” You ran a hand through your hair absentmindedly and Ren pressed a finger to the band on his forehead. The knight raised an eyebrow when he felt a small knick in the metal but ignored it and said, “It’d be easy to find him if you let me use the Force.”

 

“Why would we need you to use the Force when we have a Force hunting machine right here.” You happily gestured to Ben and gave the beast a large toothed grin before adding, “It’ll be his very first search job!”

 

“I don’t know about this,” Maelstrom scratched the back of his head. “Is this lizard man alone?”

 

“As far as I know,” you shrugged and turned around to face the forest again. “Some rich guy named Tanu wants him because the lizard man borrowed some money to bail his boyfriend out of jail, but once time came our scaly friend never coughed up the money so he’s trying to hide from him.”

 

“Does lizard man have a name?”

 

“I think it was Dan or Dange,” you scrunched your face. “Danny? Danger? Dallon? Something along those lines.”

 

“What about the boyfriend? Is he going to be an issue?”

 

“He shouldn’t be, seeing as the boyfriend violated probation and went back to jail.”

 

“How do you know he’s here?”

 

“Tanu found him here last but,” you paused and glanced briefly at the Force user before turning back to Maelstrom. “Tanu is aligned with the Order while this planet is under Republic rule. He couldn’t get close enough.” Ren’s ears prickled a bit at that. A planet under Republic rule, he could use an opportunity like this to help gain an upper hand before returning to the Order. He might even learn more than that damned ginger knew and if so, he’d be able to hold that over his head for a bit. “Before we go find, uh Dage or whatever, we need to head into one of their cities to see what information we can get about him.”

 

“Great idea,” Ren mumbled under his breath. Going into town would make it even easier for him to find out information. They could even be harboring a Resistance base somewhere here. If only he could remove the band constricting his abilities it would make everything far easier.

 

“Does he have any distinguishing marks? Seeing as we don’t really have a clear name on him,” Maelstrom mumbled as you began to walk away, hopefully towards the city. The, partially, robotic man followed closely behind you while the Vornskr turned to stare back at Ren. The Force user, now more accustomed to the beasts disapproving gaze glared back at him. Despite his defiant gaze the Knight still walked forward and kept behind the both of you. “He’s got a tattoo on his tongue in the shape of a diamond. Plus, he’s a lizard man. They do tend to stand out.”

 

“There could be more than one.”

 

“Well, he’s done sometime as well so he might act a little sketchy or jumpy.”

 

“Do you often go after criminals or requests?” Ren watched you carefully, your every step portrayed a confidence he wished to copy. A walk that placed you in a position of power and that demanded attention. He liked that. The fact that this walk caused your hips to sway a little more than average, which he _definitely_ had not noticed, was just an added bonus. As if sensing Kylo’s more questionable thoughts, the Vornskr used his head to hit against the back of his leg. The brunette glared down at the animal.

 

“It depends,” you said with a shrug. “We have a forum, those who want to request our help put in an amount and danger level. The more dangerous, the more people we bring. There are always requests but we pick and choose the ones we believe are worth it or not. If one is worth a lot of money but no one wants it, I do it.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Usually, they’re high risk requests. Like the one for your cowl, very high risk. Or the one on the Vornskr planet, extremely high. This one is not as bad, but still up there.”

 

“So, you take on extreme danger by yourself a lot of the time.” Ren did not understand where the slight tinge of anger was coming from. Why would that bother him? You, in a highly dangerous situation that could possibly lead to your demise, no that was not an issue. The thought of you brutally murdered or raped seemed to anger him quite a bit. He was feeling a proactiveness that he’d thought he’d lost long ago.

 

“It’s easier for me,” you said and looked back at him. “I’m faster and smaller than a lot of the others, I can get away with more.” To that, Ren just nodded, too caught up in his twisting emotions to really respond. Shortly after the silence began, your group made it to the edge of the city. “Alright, to the bars.”

 

“It’s a bit too early to celebrate,” Ren mumbled and you shook your head.

 

“Not for celebration, for information. Whether day or not, there’s always someone with loose lips hanging around a bar.”

 

“But a drink or two really wouldn’t hurt,” Maelstrom added and pat the paler man’s back. Kylo only grunted and followed your lead. While the two of you kept an eye out for a bar, the Force user was trying his best to use his abilities to find a Resistance sympathizer or base. Though faint, he could still feel those closest to him. He could feel your steady breathing and your rapid heartbeat, he could feel Maelstrom’s cautious feelings and hungry stomach. When he tried harder he heard that same _chink_ sound he’d heard while sitting on the ship’s ramp. Was the band around his head cracking under his abilities? He reached up and felt around the silver headgear, sure enough there was crack in the metal on the left side. If he kept working at it, surely it would break.

 

As you all entered the first bar, most of the drinkers ignored you with some turned and watched with caution. There were quite a few sketchy characters but none of them seemed to be reptilian in nature. Ren kept a close eye and made sure to memorize the faces and positions of those around him. Maelstrom immediately went for the bar while you sat down at a dirty but empty table. The tall man sat across from you quietly. “Now we could get lucky, he could be at the first bar or he could be at none,” you began but then gave him a mischievous grin. “I can already tell you’re going to be good at this.”

 

“It would be easier if I could use my abilities.”

 

“Where’s the fun in that? Besides, the name Kylo Ren is starting to become more and more popular, the further the First Order gets, and without your helmet on if you use your abilities they’ll figure out who you are. It’s best this way.”

 

“Alright! Drinks for everyone,” Maelstrom said and placed three glasses on the table. He sat down and took a sip of his own while reaching down to stroke the Vornskr’s head. “It’s just water.”

 

The three of you sat there for a while and you’d pretend to be tipsy to get others to talk with you more openly. It worked well, but not quite for the information you all were looking for. When it came time to leave for the next bar you acted as if you were too drunk to stand and while Ren enjoyed carrying you out of the bar he doubted you would let him do it the next time. After well over six standard hours of bar hoping, the Knight was starting to get annoyed. How much longer would simple information gathering take? He would’ve felt less irritated had he found a single Resistance sympathizer or member but he hadn’t. Most of these beings were largely muscled criminals without a shred of unselfish thought. Instead of choosing a side they’d been too engrossed in self-indulgence and completely ignored the war. Filthy.

 

Just as even you were beginning to get discouraged, he could feel it even without trying to overpower the band, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. It must’ve been the sixth or seventh bar you’d been too, but at the very center table sat a man in a cloak. The cloak was big enough to cover the face and general physical aspects of the being, but Ren saw a scaled hand reach out for the cup in front of him.

 

“I’m starting to get bummed here, there’s nothing! Ah, Big Guy what’re you doing?” You blinked at the pale man as he stood and started to walk towards the front through the center.

 

“I’m getting more drinks,” Ren stated off-handedly. As he passed by the table, he caught a glance at what was under the hood and it was definitely a ‘lizard man’ as you’d been calling him. He kept an eye on him while he got three more drinks and waited to make eye contact with you. When he finally did he gave a subtly nod in the man’s direction and he could see it register on your face.

 

You stood and stumbled your way over to the center table. While acting as if you lost your balance you ‘accidentally’ pulled down the man’s hoodie and knocked over his chair. The sentient lizard quickly stood and glared down at you when his drink spilled all over the table, and subsequently your head as you were on the floor pretend to recover from your fall. “Bitch, you owe me a new drink!”

 

Ren saw it, Maelstrom saw it, and you saw it. A sly smile crawled on your face. He had a diamond on his tongue.


	8. After Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This SHOULD have been longer and WOULD have been longer if I wasn't so sick. I'm sorry guys, this chapter is kind of blah. I'm really sorry.
> 
> Thank you Hawke so much for commenting on the last chapter! You're the best :3
> 
> Please enjoy!

Ren watched as you began to stand, you wiped the drops of alcohol from your eyes. Once you were at full attention, the knight released how tall the man was. The lizard like being towered over you, but you continued to smirk up at his glower. ‘Dage’ opened his mouth, as if to tell you off, but before he could get any words out your leg came up and nailed him in the abdomen. He stumbled back not only from the force of your kick but from surprise, unfortunately his recovery was swift and he grabbed ahold of your ankle and _easily_ threw you behind him. You crashed into two bar patrons, and they got angry with you. You stumbled to get upright and immediately had to dodge a punch to the abdomen, and an upper-cut to the jaw. In their inebriated state, they hit one another.

 

Maelstrom came to your rescue, jumping on top of a table, and then onto the lizard man’s back. ‘Dage’ was surprised and grabbed at Maelstrom. The bionic man locked his human arm around the lizard’s neck while the other was keeping him balanced on the wriggling man’s back. The entire bar was slowly plunging into chaos, and Ren was dragged into it. Maelstrom ended up being thrown out the doors and into the bustling streets, you ended up being thrown by ‘Dage’ into the alcohol shelf behind the bar after grabbing ahold of his tail, and Ren was in the middle of trying to beat five bar patrons at once. Complete chaos.

 

The knight was concerned, while he was distracting and you were incapacitated ‘Dage’ was making his way out. He had hoped that Maelstrom would catch him when he went out, but once he’d gotten the chance to follow him he saw that this was not the case. Maelstrom was head first in a trash bin. You came stumbling out of the bar, glass shards littering in your left arm and leg. A rather large chunk of glass was stuck in your forehead right above your eyebrow, and you were bleeding into your eye. It was no secret you were in pain, you cradled your left arm to your chest and you were hunched over breathing deeply.  Ren called your name with a soft sigh and began to walk toward you.

 

You looked up at him and smiled brightly before standing up straight and throwing your left arm in the air. Blood dripped down your arm in rivulets but what really caught Ren’s attention was the scaled tip of a lizard tail in your hand. “I win,” you laughed haughtily. The Force user slouched his shoulders and frowned in exasperation. You continued to laugh and Kylo could hear Maelstrom’s chuckles echoing in the trash bin. “Alright boys, let’s get going.”

 

“I thought we were supposed to capture him and bring him to Tanu,” Ren muttered, he watched as you set the bit of tail down and walked over to Maelstrom and began to try to pull him out of bin.

 

“We will,” you grunted, still struggling to pull your friend out of the trash. “And now that we have a piece of his tail, we’ll be able to use Ben to find him.”

 

Ren gave in and began to pull at Maelstrom along with you. Your blood was dripping onto the leg that was in your grasp. The both of you were eventually able to pull the bionic man from the trash, bits of gunk stuck in his light brown hair, he continued thanked you softly and pat Ren on the back with his robotic arm. The black-haired man grunted and ran a hand through his locks. “You’re still covered in glass.”

 

“Oh, that’s right,” you looked down at your arm and leg. “Adrenaline is pretty great.”

 

“I’m going to clean up a bit,” Mae muttered and stood. “I’ll bring back a first aid kit.”

 

“Good idea.”

 

Ren watched as you began to pull some glass from your arm sloppily. Not only were you cutting your skin further, but you were cutting your fingers as well. He was hesitant but he gave in to the nervous feeling and he moved your hand away. Kylo gently reached under your left arm and held it up. “What’re you doing Ren?”

 

“You’re only worsening your cuts, by the time you’re done you’ll have bled out.”

 

“Well, thank you,” you smiled at him. He turned his gaze away from your smile and back down to your bleeding arm. When it came time to do your leg, you sat down on top of the bin and watched him quietly. “You’re very good at this. Maybe I’ll make you my personal glass remover,” you smirked down at him. “Maybe I’ll never return you.”

 

“I’ve never seen you fight before,” Ren said, ignoring your comments. He stood back up from your leg to take the shard out of your forehead. “You fight like a drunken man.”

 

“Only in bars,” you muttered and flinched as he removed the final shard. “Well, maybe not only in bars but the way I fight gets the job done.”

 

“But you get the shit beaten out of you in the process. Were you not trained to fight?”

 

“I learned to fight by fighting.”

Ren wiped some of the dripping blood from your forehead and looked over to see Maelstrom come leisurely walking over, a brown sack slung over his shoulder. He dropped the sack down and bent down to unzip it. The tanned man still smelt of trash but all the scraps had been removed from his head. He unzipped the bag and tossed you a roll of Coban and a box of gauze at you. The knight glanced down at the bags other contents and raised a brow. “Why so many blasters?”

 

“Blasters? These aren’t blasters,” Maelstrom gave a big grin. “I modified them to shoot nets. We use them to capture live bounties. A bigger net might be necessary for Dage though.”

 

“Alright,” you said and hopped off the bin. You had wrapped the gauze and Coban around the wounds over top of your clothing. “Ben! Ben, here boy!”

 

Kylo almost flinched but managed to keep himself in order. The black Vornskr came running out from behind the building that housed the bar. He excited ran over to you and you pat his head gently. You glanced at Ren and tilted your head in the direction of the tail’s tip. The Knight picked up the oddly textured flesh and handed it to you. “Good boy Ben,” ~~he _definitely_ did not flinch.~~ “Help us find this guy, will you?’

 

The Vornskr leaned into your touch and you placed the tail in front of his nose. He sniffed it a bit and closed his eye. Ben’s ears twitched before he opened his eye again and gave a quiet yap. You nuzzled his nose and Kylo raised an eyebrow at you when you fed the tail to the black beast. “Should I ask?”

 

“He’s a good boy, and he deserves a treat,” you said and scratched under the Vornskr’s chin before standing. “Alright, you ready Mae?”

 

“Pretty much,” Maelstrom said as he secured the brown bag over his shoulder.

 

“What about you Big Guy?”

 

“As I’ll ever be,” Ren mutter and that same ~~cute~~ smirk showed came onto your face.

 

“Perfect,” you cheered and pat Ben on the side. The Vornskr ran off and you began a limping pace after him. “Let’s go!”


	9. Tanu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too pleased with this one...sorry it took so long. Next chapter I PROMISE will be kind of worth it. Depending on how you are haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, I might come back later and edit this chapter specifically because its also a few words short of what I usually like to make my chapters sooooooooooooo
> 
> A HUGE thank you to; Hawke, Kayfoxtrot, Ghost_droid, Always_Me93, and Glenn_Coco1313 for being so awesome and commenting. Also a HUGE thank you to all of y'all for being so patient and yeah, I love you guys <3

Ben, the Vornksr, found ‘Dage’ fairly quickly. The tall man was bent over a tree stump, scrambling to reach for something around it. On your command, the black beast pounced on the lizard man and brought him to the ground. Maelstrom kept a blaster poised at the scaled man’s face to keep him down, your Vornskr assisting by sitting on top of his chest. “Stay put, Dage.”

 

“Dage? Who the kriff is that?”

 

“Is that not your name?” Ren asked, glancing between you and the wanted man. You were busy concentrating on trying to find not Dage had been searching for before you found him.

 

“My name is Paul,” the reptile responded.

 

“Bounty Hunter,” Ren called and both you and Maelstrom looked toward him. The Force user continued to face you as he continued, “is this the wrong man?”

 

“No,” you shook your head and turned back to what you were doing. “He fits the description perfectly.”

 

“You borrowed money from Tanu?” Maelstrom used his human hand to scratch at the side of his head, his robotic arm still clutching the aimed blaster.

 

“Tanu sent you guys?” Paul sighed and laid his head back. “That was fast.”

 

“Tanu is a greedy bastard, he always wants his money,” you grumbled and got down on all fours, continuing to look around the stump. “What were you looking for?”

 

“I promise I’ll pay Tanu back! Please, let me go.”

 

“Not a chance, Dage.”

 

“Paul,” all three males said in unison. You blinked at them before smiling and going back to looking around.

 

“Ren, I have cuffs in the bag I brought, will you hand them to me?”

 

The Knight walked over to Maelstrom and reached inside the black bag. He looked through all the weapons before finding a pair of very familiar cuffs and pulling them out. With an eyebrow raised he handed the standard issue First Order cuffs to the tan man and he traded him the gun, ignoring Ren’s unspoken question. Paul sighed heavily as Maelstrom began to cuff him. Once he was fully restrained Ben ran to your side and began to help you search, despite not knowing what he was looking for, and you pat him softly before continuing to search with your hands.

 

“Ah! I got it!” You jumped up, a set of chrome keys in your hands. “New transport!”

 

“Good,” Ren grumbled, walking over to inspect the keys. “Your ship is hanging on by a thread.”

 

“Well, we’re still going to keep this ship to ourselves,” you said and winked at the Knight. “The last thing we need is for it to get wrecked by someone else.”

 

“You guys are stealing my ship too?”

 

“Yup,” Maelstrom drawled with a yawn. “Can we get going? I’ve got some left-over stew that is calling my name.”

 

“Yeah, Yeah. Tell you what, Maelstrom, you take the clunker back to the compound while me and Big Guy finish the job,” you suggested.

 

“Alright,” Maelstrom shrugged and nudged Paul toward the knight with his blaster. “See you later.”

 

The Vornskr looked between you and Maelstrom and after you nodded at it he went running after the partially robotic man. Ren pressed his lips together in a firm line before turning back to you and the cuffed Paul. “Okay, Lizard man. Where’d you park your ship?”

 

“Like I’d tell you!”

 

“We’ll still find it either way. Though, the longer it takes to get it the more prolonged your suffering will be.” You nudged a foot between his scaled feet and used the end of your blaster to hit his legs apart. “Where’d you park your ship, Paul?”

 

As you bent your leg at the knee and began to threateningly bounce your leg up, just barely missing the sensitive area between his thighs. Paul began to sweat with unease and even Ren was uncomfortable watching. The suspense was the worst part. “I’m giving you to the count of 5.”

 

“W-Wait a minute, you think something like this w-will get me to fess?”

 

“1.”

 

“You’re crazy, g-go ahead. Won’t affect me.”

 

“2.”

 

“I’ve got balls of steel, y-you’ll only hurt yourself.”

 

“3.” You grabbed his arms by the cuffs and pulled his back closer to your front. “We’re at 4 now.”

 

“You’re not scaring me!”

 

“5,” you whispered. Kylo watched as you brought the top of your knee up into his crotch with an incredible amount of force. The scrunched look of pain on the lizard man’s face was enough to give the Force user slight sympathy pains. You pushed Paul forward, making sure he fell to the floor with his face in the dirt. One of your feet bore down on his lizard toes and you began to twist, your blaster aimed at his still recovering balls. The man cried out as best he could and Ren heard a few bones snap. “Now, a shot to the crotch won’t kill you. I’ll still get my money. So, tell me before I get too trigger happy, where did you park your ship?”

 

“I-I,” Paul sucked in a deep breath, his teeth grit and his eyes squeezed shut. “On the roof of the bar, a tarp is covering it.”

 

“Great! Now, how hard was that?” You stepped on his back and then over his head, a smirk on your face. “Big Guy, do you think you can carry him?”

 

Ren looked to the oversized reptile before nodding to you. “Good, otherwise, we’d have had to drag him and that would take far too long for what I’m about to be paid.”

 

With one more twirl of your blaster, you began to walk back toward the city. That same confident swing to your hips. Kylo let his eyes linger for a bit before he turned back to Paul and began to try to figure out a way to carry him. In the end, he just threw him across his shoulders.

 

It was a bit of a struggle. Paul was no lighter than 4 sheets of durasteel, but Ren could handle it. However, when the ~~two~~ three of you finally reached the ship the knight could not help but throw the reptilian down on the floor like he really was 4 sheets of durasteel. Kylo shrugged his shoulders and rubbed them a bit, trying his best to work them out before the soreness kicked in. The dark-haired man looked around the ship, his eyes trailing along the off-white and red interior. It was nice, very sleek and luxurious. You let out a low whistle in tune with Kylo’s thoughts.

 

“You must’ve spent a lot of money on this,” you mused. “You sure you couldn’t pay Tanu back?”

 

“I told you I would if you’d let me go.”

 

“No can do,” you shrugged and walked over to the pilot’s chair. “Big Guy, come help me fly this thing.”

 

Tanu’s planet of choice was not very far from where you and Ren had caught Paul. And the meeting place was in the middle of a run down and abandoned warehouse. Ren carried the reptile once more and placed him down a bit more gently. You stood beside the Force user and placed your hands on your hips. “Tanu, you slime guzzler, get out here!”

 

“Impatient as always,” spoke a voice Kylo did not recognize.

 

“Tanu,” Paul tsked, his gaze glued to the floor.

 

Tanu, a Chiss who was dressed in bright red and golden robes and accompanied by two armed human guards, walked out from a spot a few feet behind you. Ren watched him curiously, only having heard of Chiss before. Tanu eyed you, then Ren. “I see you have a new helper. What happened to the robot?”

 

“He got hungry.”

 

Tanu chuckled and took a few steps toward the knight. He continued to look him up and down, still a good few feet away. “I like the looks of this one better. Mind if I borrow him?”

 

“Not a chance, Tanu.”

 

“Pity,” the blue man simply shrugged before he looked down at the lizard man on the ground behind Ren. “Paul, how lovely to see you again.”

 

You grabbed Paul by the collar of his shirt and dragged him closer to the red eyed man. The lizard man struggled against you but you ignored it in favor of glaring at Tanu. Ren stepped up behind you and he kept a close eye on the guards behind the robed fiend. The way Tanu looked at you, a mixture of smugness and disgust, had the Force user feeling a bit on edge. There was something off, but he was not quite sure what it was. “Where’s my money?”

 

“Don’t worry, you’ll have it in a moment. Just as soon as Paul is in my possession.”

 

“You know I don’t play that way, Tanu. I want my money first, then you can have your lizard man.”

 

The blue skinned man clicked his tongue and frowned before turning to one of the guards and telling him to transfer you the credits. You watched the holo screen on your armband, making sure to count how much money was going in. When you were satisfied you pushed Paul toward Tanu with your foot and turned. “Pleasure doing business with you,” you grumbled and tapped Ren on the back.

 

As the two of you began to walk away, the hairs on the back of Ren’s neck stood up and he turned quickly. The both of you heard the shot, but you were too slow, you would only be able to turn toward the blaster fire not avoid it. In the same instant, Kylo reached his hand out and used all his power to try to overcome the band around his head. The band snapped, falling into pieces on the ground, and in the nick of time he was able to use the Force to stop the blaster fire inches away from your chest. You stared in awe at the glowing green energy frozen in front of you and then looked up to Ren with a mixture of emotions on your face. Tanu stared in disbelief but recovered quickly and motioned for both of his guards to fire again. Ren once again used the Force to fire the shot that was meant for you back at the guard who fired it. You pulled out your blaster and aimed right for the blue bastard.

 

Tanu used Paul as his shield, and the lizard man’s head took your shot instead. You cursed under your breath and started to run, “Time to go,” you cried and grabbed Kylo’s hand, pulling him along with you as you ran out of the building. The Chiss and his men continued to shoot at the both of you, even as you bordered the ship you’d stolen from Paul. “Get us out of here!”

 

“The hell did he do that for,” Ren yelled back at you as he began to start the ship. You climbed down into the weapons area and aimed for the building and fired. When you still saw Tanu step out of the building, not having much time left, you clicked your tongue and destroyed the Chiss’ ship.

 

“Tanu likes to keep his money,” you called back. “I was surprised he’d let me live this long.”

 

“Then why did you choose this one?”

 

“Why did you protect me?” You’d climbed up out of the guns pit.

 

“What?”

 

“The band, it broke and you used your Jedi powers to protect me. Why?”

 

“You expected me to just let you die?”

 

“Most people would have, yes.”

 

Ren looked at you and studied your expression for a moment. The confusion and unfamiliar hurt in your eyes caught him off guard. Without responding to you, he turned back to the controls of the ship. He couldn’t answer your question, because he had no idea as to why he’d protected you either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've waited like two years for it, now here it comes, next chapter will haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeee....SMUT! EVERYONE'S FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if Ren is OOC or if Reader seems a bit Mary Sue-ish. This is set way before the movie, like years before it. I imagine Kylo to be kind of nervous with his Force abilities, especially after he first starts associating with the dark side, so that's why its like that. To me, Pre-Force Awakens Kylo is a lot like Mat in the awkward department. Sorry.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!


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